


Duty Calls

by Inksinger



Category: Original Work
Genre: Gen, Gift Fic, Inspired by Roleplay/Roleplay Adaptation, Original Works - Freeform, everything featured here is either from my original work or from el-aatmik's, roleplay spoilers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-04-09
Updated: 2014-04-14
Packaged: 2018-01-18 17:40:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,011
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1437028
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Inksinger/pseuds/Inksinger
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Blood War has come to an end, but that doesn't mean Amariah or Antaeus can sit on their laurels and laze about. When word reaches the Earthwhisper family of a quickly-escalating feud in New Zealand between a group of Halcyons and a fledgling settlement, Amariah and Antaeus are forced to travel overseas to help resolve the matter before any blood is spilled. Gift fic for tumblr user el-aatmik, featuring a combination of her canon and mine and spoilers for our roleplay.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

  * For [el-aatmik](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=el-aatmik).



It had been a little over two years since the Blood War had finally come to its end, and although the land still showed the scars of the conflict and there yet remained a few scattered pockets of anti-human fledglings, those in the Fire Territory had finally begun to cast off their mourning clothes and decide what they should do now that there was no need to live in fear of the world outside their city walls. Restrictions against travelers entering the territory remained rigid, but no longer were non-fledglings explicitly banned from the lands that had suffered the most damage during the bloodiest months their race had ever known... and, if one knew the right people within the territory, what restrictions remained could quite easily be waved aside.

Unfortunately, Antaeus did not know _quite_ the right people; he had been forced to undergo the same security procedures imposed upon any outsider to the territory, despite being mated to one who (assuming he was, for once, accurately reading the situation) was slowly becoming a well-respected public figure, even despite the lingering wariness many still felt for her newly-embraced status as royalty.

Amariah had been rather adamant from the start that she would not and _could_ not, in good conscience, pull the necessary strings to give Antaeus or any of his friends or children free passage into the territory. The hybrid--now a co-queen with her aunt Sierra--had made it abundantly clear that she wanted no one to think the latest heir to the Earthwhisper family's throne would even consider abusing her power, even in situations where doing so might be both expected and easily forgiven... assuming such an act would be noted at all.

Antaeus understood her concern readily enough; after everything her ancestors and especially her uncle had put the fledgling people through, the fire-bred had been determined to regain the honor and dignity her family had sacrificed centuries before the Blood War had begun. Her first step had been to admit publicly that Tarak's true motive for exterminating the human race had been to 'protect' his half-human niece, and that in addition every moment of hardship directly caused by her family had been the result of the centuries-long feud between the restless spirits of Theron and Antony, two of the creators of the Earthwhisper clan.

The admission had come just as the Blood War had begun, and though three years had passed since then, Antaeus could see there were still those who looked with an unfriendly eye on the Earthwhisper family. Fortunately, Amariah's efforts to atone for her family's crimes and earn again the trust of her people had put at ease many who did not already respect her for her feats on and off the battlefield, but... it was probably better not to test their ability to forgive so soon after the nearly thirty years of bloodshed had finally been brought to an end.

Equally understandable was the need to feel secure and in control of who entered the territory, a need possessed the majority of the fledglings who had lived in the epicenter of the war. As a people who had gone nearly five hundred years without becoming involved even in the wars of outsiders, the whole of the fledgling race was still reeling from so much hatred and bloodshed, and even those who had managed to go the entire span of the conflict without ever once becoming directly involved had grown leery of anyone they did not immediately recognize.

It would likely be several more decades before the memory of their time of sorrows had faded enough to allow them any true semblance of peace; until then, even non-fledglings with relatives and homes within the Fire Territory would be forced to walk on eggshells. Antaeus was only grateful that he and others like him had not been banished outright.

Amariah's only act of interference with the border guard's security checks were the vouchers she wrote to attest to Antaeus's status as a friend to the Fire Territory, which she was required to send to the border station each time Antaeus returned from one of his hunts. As with all other outsiders, Antaeus needed at least one full-time resident of the Fire Territory to attest to his character and trustworthiness, either in person or by a letter which first had to be signed by a high-ranking member of the government. Generally speaking, such signatures came either from Mael's clerk or from Fiacre, who had been given a job as secretary to the Chief of Border Security. As a queen of the Fire Territory, Amariah needed no other signature but her own.

The process wasn't really unbearable; certainly it was less intrusive than the bag and body checks one had to endure at any international airport in the United States. Even still, Antaeus could never quite help feeling as though his privacy was being invaded just a bit, particularly whenever he encountered a guard who did not know what a memory stone was and (more often than not) therefore required a brief explanation before he or she felt safe in allowing Antaeus to bring it _back_ into the Fire Territory. The same was truer still for Lulezïm; having to assure the guards that, no, it was not being brought along with the intent to murder anybody important had grown just a little tiresome, and the questions did not always stop with whether or not he intended to cause any harm. Both the memory stone and the sword were precious to him, very nearly extensions of himself, and though neither were ever actually touched (which was fortunate, as Antaeus doubted he would refrain from physically trying to prevent anyone taking them), the guards' very necessary concern and curiosity always managed to irk him all the same.

Despite his discomfort, Antaeus remained silent and cooperative until he was finally allowed access into the territory; only once he had put the border station well behind him did he finally allow himself to grumble for a moment at the impossibility of any fledgling who had lived here during the war _not_ knowing who he was and what his sword and memory stone were. He had certainly made no secret of his identity or Lulezïm while he had fought alongside the Lucian warriors, and though Amariah still aired on the side of secrecy with many family matters, it seemed to Antaeus that she neither worried nor made any effort to stop her relatives from explaining the memory stones in great detail. It was absurd that word _still_ hadn't traveled around to nearly everyone in the territory after three years...

Unless the reason Amariah never objected to her sister and cousins spreading the knowledge had less to do with the hybrid finally growing out of her paranoia and more to do with her family's seemingly innate ability to pick reliable secret-keepers out almost on sight. Certainly Sierra and Kiara had both proven to share that ability with the young matron herself, and Nathaniel, Anita, and Rafael had also shown themselves to have a knack for keeping the most important aspects of a secret to themselves...

Antaeus shook his head; he had already learned not to try puzzling out every aspect of the way Amariah's fledgling relatives interacted with outsiders to the family. More often than not, he only wound up with a dozen more questions than the one he contemplated... not to mention something of a headache.

At least he would be able to see his young mate within the next day or two--as well as their daughter, Mairéad. The thought put something of a spring in the Avisa's step and wiped the frown from his brow. With two of the most precious women in his life waiting for him in Aubecerum, it was hard to stay irritable over something as inconsequential as a routine security check. He had quite literally survived far worse than a few nosy guards for their sakes.

His path through the eastern forest took Antaeus close enough to see the gleaming white walls of Amariah's current pet project: the construction of a new city where once the ruins of the City of Night had lain. Rather than draw any nearer, however, Antaeus continued on his way, stopping only to look from a distance before continuing on. There was really no reason for him to enter the city just now; he couldn't help the earth- and fire-breds who worked to rebuild the city, and none of his fledgling friends or family lived there yet.

Although she was by every right the ruler of the City of Starlight--which as of yet still had no 'proper' name, though Amariah and Sierra both had several in mind--Amariah and her mates and children had so far remained in their apartments at the Cooper estate. The fire-bred had even specifically requested that, beyond the reservation of a plot of land at the center of the city, the Earthwhisper estate should be the absolute last to rise from the ashes of the old city. This had been done for exactly the same reason that she had decreed that those involved in the city's construction should be the first to claim any property, residential or otherwise, within the still-rising walls if they so desired: If the people of the Fire Territory and especially the resurrected City were ever to accept and trust her as a leader, she argued, they had to see that she would always put her people before her own wants and needs.

Thus Antaeus passed the city by; from here he could see the walls were completed or very nearly so, and stood tall around the outer edges of where the old walls had once stood... or so it would seem from the outside. In reality Amariah had asked that her newborn city have walls twice as thick as the old and twice again as strong. She would not lose _this_ home to a few homemade explosives!

The trip through the eastern forest took the rest of the first day, but by noon on the second day Antaeus found himself climbing the stairs up the cliff to Aubecerum--stairs which had thankfully, finally, been hewn again so that they were each even and low enough to allow for a dignified climb, while also deep and wide enough that one was not forced to cling to the rocky cliff face to avoid falling off. Now two people could comfortably walk abreast without having to jostle each other for room, and without having to balance their weight on the balls of their feet. It was one of the many improvements that in Antaeus's mind should not have been put off until the chaos of an outright war had highlighted _why_ the improvement was necessary.

Fortunately, Antaeus did not need to repeat his trial at the border with the four who currently stood guard at the gates of the city; in addition to three of them having once fought beside him during the war, all four recognized the silver-haired man immediately and were quite happy to allow Amariah's mate into the city once they confirmed (by way of a single question, Goddess be praised) that he had not in fact smuggled himself into the territory.

Behind the walls, Aubecerum was as alive with activity as it had been so many years before, when a much younger Amariah had first led him through its streets. No longer did the fledglings here eye Antaeus with any measure of worry or hostility, and neither were children or pets kept close to the sides of their caretakers; indeed, Antaeus was nearly knocked down twice by a particularly rowdy group of youngsters as they chased each other through the crowded main street.

As always, the throng thinned out as he drew nearer to the estate; all the same, Antaeus was glad to finally step inside the entry hall and be greeted with the near-silence that always seemed to fill the place. It helped that this was as good as home to him, despite his duty pulling him away far more frequently than he would like.

As he traveled down now-familiar hallways to his family's apartments, Antaeus could feel himself relax, even as his stomach began to twist with excitement. Soon. Soon he would see his Kila and little Mairéad and his brothers and their daughters...

Amariah met him just around the last corner, startling him with her sudden appearance--as well as with the flying tackle she performed in her attempt to hug him from what he could only assume had been a flat-out run from the door.

"And hello to you, too!" Antaeus laughed, stumbling back and wrapping his arms around the fire-bred.

"I missed you," Amariah murmured by way of greeting, tightening her embrace and burying her face in his chest. "I think I drive everyone mad whenever you leave. I know I did this time." She pulled away and kissed him quickly on the lips. "Mairéad will be happy you're home. She's been asking when you'd be back. Between the two of us, I'm surprised your brothers and the twins haven't tried to murder us in our sleep!"

Antaeus smiled and kissed her back, much longer and more passionate than the quick peck she'd given him. It had been too many days since the last time they had done this, since he had been able to hold her, to look into those brilliant blue eyes and kiss those full lips. Even when they finally came apart again and she leaned up to brush noses with him, he felt as though he was still starved for contact with his mate.

"You look tired," she told him. Her eyes were sharp on his face, and before Antaeus had time to respond she had snatched his duffel bag from him, grabbed him by one arm, and was towing him down the hallway towards their apartment. "Do you want a bath first or a nap? Are you hungry? I think I could whip something up for you if it wasn't anything too glamorous..."

Antaeus let himself be led along with an indulgent--if weary--smile. He knew better than to try to argue with her when she was like this; not only would it would be easier for everyone involved if he simply let Amariah satisfy her mile-wide maternal streak, but the Avisa quite frankly found this side of the otherwise prickly fire-bred rather adorable.

And, truth be told... he really _was_ hungry. He could only thank the Goddess that Amariah had finally learned to cook a few very simple dishes during the war; he was not sure he would have had the heart to refuse her cooking even if she hadn't, and charred food did not sound at all appetizing at the moment!

Still... perhaps he would ask for something that didn't need to be heated. It would be just his luck if the Cooper estate went up in flames within minutes of his return!


	2. An Unexpected Letter

Later--after a lunch of sandwiches, fruit, and apple cider--Amariah lead her mate to the bathroom and drew a bath for the both of them, taking care not to make the water as scalding hot as she tended to prefer (how her skin was not as dry as desert sand despite the boiling soaks she took three or for times a week, Antaeus would never know) and even adding scented salts to the water.

"Lavender?" Antaeus asked, smiling as he drew Amariah down into the water with him. "I thought you disliked lavender."

"But you love it," Amariah told him, smiling as she settled down in the water. "You've been gone for two, almost three weeks. You deserve to be pampered just a bit, now that you're back home again." She reached around and ran her fingers through his long silver hair. "Am I allowed to wash this for you?"

Antaeus closed his eyes and moaned; after so many days away from her, he felt he could almost melt into those gentle touches. "If you want to," he told her. "It has been a few days since I washed it last..."

He moaned again and laid back as she started cupping water in her hands and pouring it over his hair. In all honesty, it would have likely been easier if Antaeus could lay back and allow the water to soak into his hair on its own; there was more than enough room to do so in the tub. But Amariah didn't seem to mind the extra work... and in all honesty, Antaeus rather preferred this method, too.

The hybrid queen worked in near silence, lathering his hair tenderly and occasionally humming the tunes to songs that fit or could easily be made to fit her vocal range. This was normal for her, though the realization had initially been difficult for Antaeus to make.

When excited in any way--angry or happy, curious or, rare as it seemed to be, even afraid--Amariah could very easily become something of a chatterbox, and had been for the majority of her earliest interactions with Antaeus. It wasn't until the end of the Blood War that he had begun to realize that it was far more common for Amariah to remain quiet, even when she was alone with one or more of her mates.

He had eventually broached the subject with Desoto, who had smiled wryly and told him, "That's her norm, Antaeus. You've only just started seeing it because your appearances tend to be just far enough apart that you stir her up whenever you come around. When she's calm and feels secure, she's much more reserved. It's a habit she's trained into herself--don't let it bother you too much."

It was an odd norm--but Antaeus thought he understood it well enough. Even while she was being completely open, Amariah did not always appear to believe she expressed herself adequately. Perhaps she believed she had more difficulty communicating than Antaeus realized?

"How has everyone been?" the Avisa asked when the relative quiet began to ring in his ears. "How have _you_ been, Kila? How has Mairéad been?"

"Which question shall I answer first?" Amariah leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek. "Mairéad has missed you, but her sisters have kept her busy. They've been leading her in quite a few bits of mischief; honestly, I don't think she realizes half the things they did were as unkind as they were!"

"Unkind?" Antaeus raised an eyebrow, though he knew his Kila couldn't see it.

"In the nicest sense," Amariah assured him, massaging his scalp. "They've been antagonizing their fathers. They tied ribbons in 'Soto's hair and managed to run off with Scythe's sandals right when he needed them." A small hand tugged gently at his shoulder. "Lean back so I can rinse your hair."

Antaeus grinned and did as she asked, shifting in the tub until he was submerged beyond his hairline. He looked up and watched Amariah as her fingers worked at his hair beneath the water; the hybrid's face was relaxed, the faintest hint of a smile playing across her lips as she quirked an eyebrow at him.

"You still have not told me how you have been, my Kila." He reached up and tugged at one damp, scraggly lock of her hair. "You seem more relieved than usual that I am home again."

She grimaced, but her eyes betrayed her continuing good humor. She did not try to answer him though, likely doubting that he would understand her with his ears underwater; rather than allow this to bother him, Antaeus took the opportunity to let his hands wander. He stroked up along her sides, grinning when he felt her skin quiver under his touch. By the way her lips twitched, she was trying very hard not to grin back at him... but the severe expression she tried to wear instead was ruined all the same.

"Brat," she chided him when he was allowed to sit up again.

"And yet you continue to put up with me." Antaeus turned and kissed her before he asked again, "How have you fared, Kila? You still have not told me."

"I've been... busy," Amariah told him. Then she wrinkled her nose and sighed. "No, that isn't right. Preoccupied would be the better word, I think. For some reason I've been a nervous wreck, this last hunting trip of yours." She ran her hands slowly along his shoulders, and whether it was to soothe herself or pamper him Antaeus couldn't be sure. "It's probably nothing. I've had these edgy spells before--I'm sure now that you're back, I'll start settling down again."

She shifted around, leaning against him and kissing him again. One hand--unnaturally warm even underwater--skimmed up along his leg, around to his backside, and Antaeus felt himself nearly come undone.

"Goddess..." Amariah must have been worried mad, to behave in such a forward manner now!

"It's been too many weeks," the fire-bred informed her mate with a husky chuckle. "I've missed my merman."

"I think I know how to fix that," Antaeus told her, trailing his hands along her sides again until he could cup her breasts.

Amariah grinned and answered him with a kiss.

~~~

Eventually they were forced to leave the bath; Amariah was not keen on staying in the soapy water once it started to go cold, and although by now she was able to stay in the water for up to an hour, she was not willing to risk that their lovemaking had tired her out enough to put her at risk.

They spent the next hour lounging together on the chaise in the sitting room, watching as all three of the children played together. According to Amariah, the girls had been with Kiara since early that morning, their aunt having offered to watch the trio and give Amariah some rest while Desoto and Scythe were out helping to strengthen and repair the northern city walls, which still bore the marks of Tarak's mad attempt to take the city. According to the girls, however, they had returned home because they had driven both Kiara and Fiacre half insane with their antics.

"Naia," Amariah called to the honey-haired twin, "be gentle with Mairéad. She's littler than you." She sighed and shook her head as all three girls collapsed with a hollow thump. "Why couldn't they play something _besides_ their war games?"

"Are you concerned because they are making light of the war?" Antaeus asked, kissing the top of her head. Lounging as she was, stomach-down across his lap, Amariah's face was a little too low for him to reach her cheek or lips.

She stiffened, then relaxed again and admitted, "That. But it's more that I worry they'll all grow up thinking they _need_ to fight. Or even worse, that they will." She shook her head. "After all we did, all we sacrificed, it would be the ultimate failure if my daughters still had to grow up learning how to fight and kill."

"I pray they will never need to," Antaeus said, running his fingers through her hair. "However, I think it may be wise if they were allowed to learn all the same. Better that they learn how to incapacitate an attacker and never be forced to use those skills, rather than one day find themselves in danger and unable to defend themselves."

Amariah grimaced, but nodded in agreement as Kellan and Naia wrestled each other to the floor again. Mairéad sat to the side for the moment, happily cheering on both of her sisters without bias. "I suppose I can't rightly protect them from everything, can I?"

A knock sounded at the door, cutting across Antaeus's response despite the seeming timidity in the sound. Amariah groaned and made a point of climbing to her feet with an almost agonizing slowness. Antaeus chuckled and pulled her back into his lap to give her a quick hug about the shoulders before reluctantly letting her stand again and drag herself to the door.

"Oh, very graceful, Kila," he teased as he watched her flounce across the room, her shoulders slumped and her head hanging to one side. "You look like a sullen teenager." He laughed as she turned to stick her tongue out at him before opening the door.

Antaeus was not generally very skilled at reading people--particularly his mate--but even he could tell by the way Amariah immediately straightened, her head rising and her shoulders pulling suddenly back, that _something_ was wrong. He leaned this way and that, but before he could glimpse any more of their visitor than a flash of red hair and a green, velvet-clad shoulder, Amariah sent them away with a nod and shut the door. When she turned to face the room again, she held an envelope in her hands.

"Who was it?" Antaeus asked as she came to sit beside him again. Now he could finally see the envelope was sealed with a wax stamp--emerald green in color and flecked with bits of gold, the symbol it bore was the simple ash leaf seal of the Earthwhisper family. The letter must be something important, then.

"A courier," Amariah answered, running a fingertip along the leaf-and-circle design in the wax. "The seal is off."

"Off?" Antaeus frowned. There didn't seem to be anything wrong with it...

"This is the old seal," Amariah explained. She tapped her nail against one of the gold flecks. "Remember, one of the changes I made in the beginning was to get rid of the gold flecks. We use copper now."

"Could there still be some who are not aware it was changed?" It had only been three years, after all, surely something as small as a change to the appearance of a wax seal would take a much longer time to get around, especially since it had to compete with much bigger news--such as the construction of the City of Starlight and the return of the Earthwhisper family to the long-abandoned throne of the North American territories.

"All of the noble families know," Amariah murmured, carefully peeling the seal away. "And I can't imagine anyone lower in rank would want to write directly to me, not that it's discouraged..."

Antaeus leaned over her shoulder, trying to read the letter, but almost immediately Amariah sat back against the couch, her eyes wide as they seemed to scan several times over the same lines.

"What is it?" Antaeus asked, leaning back with her and peering at the letter. The handwriting wasn't one he recognized, and the letter started innocuously enough... and then the writer finally mentioned where the letter had been sent from.

"Why are the fledglings in New Zealand writing to me?" Amariah demanded, still reading through the first paragraph. Then she seemed to remember there was more to the letter, and growled at herself as she read the rest. Her brow grew darker and darker as she read, and by the end of the letter she had become nearly as pale as she had been as a teenager... and looked nearly as sickly.

"What--" Antaeus started as she shoved the paper at him, then took it from her hand and scanned the letter for himself. The writer introduced herself as Anahera, Matron of her settlement and its two nearest neighbors, and began her letter by hailing Amariah as the 'Queen and Peace-Bringer of the Northern Cities'--which Antaeus felt certain terrified his young mate to death, as she had confided in him years ago that one of the reasons she did not want her family's throne was simply that she had been and still was afraid of having that much power given to her, particularly if it was given to her by the very people she would govern... as the throne had been.

The letter went on to explain the writer's intent in contacting Amariah was to request her assistance in returning peace to the fledgling settlements in New Zealand. According to Anahera, her people had begun to have, in her words, 'strained relations' with a group of people who seemed to live in the mountains near Anahera's home settlement. The people were described as 'eagle-winged humans, bedecked in gold and caring themselves like battlefield royalty'... and Antaeus felt his blood run cold.

"Those are Halcyons, aren't they?" Amariah's voice was quiet, but shook with something Antaeus could not read. When he nodded, his eyes still on the letter, she said, "They--the fledglings and the Halcyons, both--they've been at odds for a while, but it's getting violent now. The Halcyons are harassing them. I doubt the fledglings aren't at the very last beginning to react, if they aren't being just as antagonistic."

"And Anahera is asking you to step in before it becomes war," Antaeus murmured, his eyes reaching that part of the letter as he spoke. Except Anahera had worded it less delicately, outright beseeching Amariah to help them to prevent the outbreak of another Dark War.

"I'm not going."

Amariah's tone was so sharp, so... _mulish_ that Antaeus finally looked up at her again, startled from his reverie. The hybrid sat with her arms crossed tightly against her stomach; her hands clenched the sides of her tunic so tightly that Antaeus was certain there would be wrinkles if she ever relaxed again. Her eyes blazed, but Antaeus could not tell if she was angry or afraid.

"You must," he told her simply. His surprise bled into his tone, and he could feel his eyebrows rising to meet his hairline. "They have asked for you by name. Their _Matron_ has asked for you. You cannot ignore them, and I doubt you could send anyone else in your place--not even Sierra."

"What do I know of diplomacy?" Amariah demanded, rising and pacing back and forth before the chaise. Kellan and Naia had by now stopped wrestling, and sat watching their mother's movements interestedly while Mairéad tried to entice one and then the other to wrestle with her. "I ended our war with blood and sacrifice! I've never put two at peace with each other without having to beat one or the other into submission first!" Naia grew bored of watching here, and as she turned to start tickling Mairéad, Amariah turned to face Antaeus and said, "Sierra should go. She ruled Noctis for years. She kept Tarak in check even after I escaped with your brothers. She can help the New Zealanders. She'll know what to say to them."

"They did not ask for Sierra, my Kila." Antaeus strove to keep his voice calm and soothing. "Anahera specifically wrote to you, and asks for your help, not Sierra's. It would not be right to send anyone else in your place. "

"I never do what's expected of me," Amariah snapped, pacing again. Kellan tilted her head, still intensely attentive as she listened over the sound of her sisters' squawking. "Why would I start following some stupid rule now? What, it's alright for me to break with convention as long as doing so makes me look more magnanimous?"

"So you will do nothing, and let people continue to suffer and draw closer to the point of open war, simply because you would prefer to do only the good things that you planned to do all along?" Antaeus leaned forward, bracing his arms on his knees as he said, "Kila, this is not like you. You have never run from those who needed help before. Why are you considering it now? Is it because they have sought you out? Would you have preferred to help without their coming to you?"

"No." Amariah's voice was very nearly a growl; Antaeus could hear the low rumble start up in the back of her throat as she sat down next to him again and rested her forehead against her interlaced fingers.

"Then why are you so willing to turn your back on them?" Antaeus put his hand against her back and almost flinched at how cool her skin felt beneath the fabric of her tunic. "Kila, you have said from the beginning that you intend to use your time as queen to erase the mistakes your family has made. You cannot tell me one of those mistakes was not the betrayal of those who turned to them in good faith. I know your histories well enough to know your family betrayed its share of allies in the past."

"Is that how you see it?" Amariah asked hollowly. "Am I a traitor if I don't help these people? If I send somebody else as my ambassador?"

Antaeus hesitated; the one thing Amariah despised above all else was betrayal on any level. He suspected she still has not entirely forgiven the people of Flamma for failing to come to the site of the City of Night so long ago, though she no longer spat venom about the city or its people. To his knowledge, she had never willingly betrayed anyone--he seriously doubted she would ever have recovered from the guilt if she had.

"What would you think, if things were reversed?" he finally asked. "If you had sent someone a plea for help and they sent another in their place, would you forgive them?"

Amariah buried her head in her hands, lacing her fingers in her hair and growling audibly. Kellan tilted her head again and scootched closer as her sisters continued to wrestle behind her.

"There are children and elders in the New Zealand settlements, Kila, " Antaeus reminded her gently. "If it turns to war, they will be in danger. Some may die."

She mouthed something Antaeus could not decipher and shook her head minutely. The Avisa waited, watching as she closed her eyes and sank into herself. He had seen this before, as well; when Amariah grew still and silent like this, it was unwise to interrupt her train of thought.

A small, latte-colored hand came to rest on Amariah's knee, causing the fire-bred to flinch visibly. Amariah and Antaeus both turned to look at Kellan, who regarded her mother with a seriousness that became even more startling when compared to the utter carelessness of her two sisters, who had now progressed to diving off the furniture at each other.

"You said people are at their worst when they ignore a call for help," the dark-haired twin told her mother. "You said when somebody asks for help and the people they ask don't help, those people are even worse than the ones hurting the people asking for help."

Amariah opened and shut her mouth several times, seeming to have some difficulty answering her daughter. Her face colored finally, the cheeks going bright pink with shame as she eventually looked down at Kellan's hand and murmured, "I did say that. There are few things worse than a turned back."

"Nobody helped you at first." Kellan's eyes were solemn. "And nobody helped your home. Don't be the same way, Momma. Be good."

Amariah smiled, though her hand shook as she ran her fingers through Kellan's shoulder-length hair. "You're too sharp, my Kellan. Far, far, far too sharp." She sighed, then turned her eyes to Antaeus again. "I can't do this alone. "

"I know." Antaeus leaned over and kissed her temple. "I was not going to allow you to go alone. You do not know enough about the Halcyons; I do. Let me go with you. I can talk to the Halcyons."

Amariah leaned over and buried her face in her shoulder as Kellan turned away to pull Mairéad off of Naia; Antaeus held his wife close, kissing the top of her head when he felt her tremble. It was a long time before she pulled away again, seeming controlled but resigned.

"I'll send my response to Anahera tonight," she murmured, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. "And tomorrow we make preparations to leave for New Zealand."


End file.
